Rebecca Black wows listeners with new cover song

Rebecca Black, a US singer who skyrocketed to internet notoriety after releasing her debut single “Friday” in 2011, has defied critics with a cover song displaying her refined vocal skills.

The 19-year-old California singer amassed more than 400,000 views and 28,000 likes within just days of releasing a cover of Alessia Cara track “Scars to Your Beautiful” on YouTube.

Black’s performance has been touted by some as a complete turnaround from the viral “Friday”, the original post of which amassed 3.2 million dislikes — 88 percent of total ratings — as well as 166 million views before it was taken down due to legal disputes.

“Friday” — heavily criticised for then 13-year-old Black’s autotuned vocals — remains the third most disliked video on YouTube ever.

The track has been credited with transforming Black into an overnight celebrity and even saw her flown out to Australia by national telco Telstra in 2011 to perform as part of its 4G broadband network launch.

Over the next few years, “Friday” was followed by a string of singles including sequel “Saturday” in 2013. The song attracted a more positive response, with almost twice as many people liking it as disliking it.

The video clip — which received a more than modest view count of 29 million — appears to have rekindled public interest in the much-maligned viral sensation.